Ball grid array (BGA) technology provides a high density of interconnections per unit area, but mismatches of coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) occur when ceramic or polymer BGA substrates and printed circuit boards are joined and often result in cracked solder joints, especially as the size of the substrates and temperature ranges are increased. In column grid array (CGA) techniques and other BGA techniques, a eutectic solder is applied to printed circuit board and multi-chip module array pads and the resulting joint is soldered to a higher temperature solder column or ball which does not melt. Both IBGA and CGA structures can be inflexible and vulnerable to damage. For various types of BGA and CGA, increases in reliability are attempted by elaborate under-filling of the structures with polymer glues to reinforce the interfaces and reduce the effects of the CTE mismatch on the solder joints. The polymer glues, however, impair repairability because of the difficulty in removing the glues after hardening. Furthermore, these types of structures require two separate solder steps, are more expensive than conventional solder structures, and require more vertical space due to increased height of the joints.
One conventional micro ball grid array interface technique for attaching a semiconductor circuit chip directly to a substrate is to use a series of solder bumps clustered at the center of the chip to constrain the area over which stresses between differing coefficients of thermal expansion occur. In this embodiment, chips have their pads reconfigured and solder micro bumps are applied over the reconfigured pads. In one embodiment, ball grid array processes are used with the temperature range being constrained during device operation to 30.degree. C. to 70.degree. C. in an effort to avoid CTE stress effects. In another ball grid array interface technique, the area where the chip faces the printed circuit board or substrate is not used for direct interconnection. Instead, metallization is routed from the chip to adjacent support structures which then have solder ball connections. This technique can create size and pin count limitations as well as electrical parasitic effects.